This invention relates to fishing lures used for catching large ocean fish in which a fish hook assembly operates as a lure for the fish in the course of trolling the assembly from a moving boat, while a projectile fired upon hooking the fish incapacitates the fish.
Baitless lures comprise shiny surfaces and/or plummage of a sort for attracting the attention of the fish while moving through the water. Bait can be attached to the hook assembly of the lure for additionally testing the olfactory sense of the fish; however, an appeal to the visual sense often proves sufficient, and in most cases such lures are used in a baitless manner. In the course of hooking a large fish, such as a shark, marlin, tuna, swordfish and the like, there is a considerable amount of struggle involved, often requiring up to three or four hours of strenuous physical activity on the part of the fisherman to land the fish. It is not uncommon for the fish to free itself during the course of the struggle. Such a struggle on the part of the fisherman and the fish is indeed considered to be an essential part of the sport normally associated with such enterprises. On the other hand, in the commercial realm of fishing for large fish as a source of food, or hunting unique specimens for display in aquariums, the element of sport is of minimum importance and it is desirable to "land" the fish as quickly as possible in a relatively efficient and hazard-free manner as well as in a painless and humane manner. There is therefore a need for providing fishing lures which will insure an escape-free strike by the fish being sought for food or show, a lure which will insure that the fish is not only caught but stays caught and, as well, offers little or no struggle while it is being landed and therefore is subject only to minimal pain.